With the announcement of the new superintendent, Dr. Paul Sally, it is important to outline what the student body wants to see in the new superintendent.

The position of superintendent can be difficult to define for students. With New Trier being larger than many small colleges, the everlasting list of teachers and administration can be confusing to clarify. Between advisers, adviser chairs, assistant principals, principals, and assistant superintendents, the separation of power can be a somewhat confusing subject to look into for both students and parents. So it is important to define part of the superintendent’s responsibility.

To illustrate the responsibilities of the superintendent I am going to simplify quite a lot and avoid the formal job descriptions. I am going to use the analogy of the 2016 World Series Champions Chicago Cubs.

So, let’s imagine New Trier as the Chicago Cubs organization. All the students are “players.” The managers and coaches are teachers and department heads because they are directly instrumental in teaching.  The GM is the principal for they have the power to remove managers and discipline (bench/trade) players.

The superintendent is, then, the president of baseball operations. They are in charge of overseeing all baseball operations, which includes making sure the players are preforming well and ensuring the cost of maintaining the equipment and staff is warranted. Not only do they have to create the best environment for the team, but they also have to justify their decisions to the dreaded Board of Directors (the school board) which scrutinizes every decision with the purpose of working towards the most beneficial outcome for the team.    

  Bringing it back to New Trier, the superintendent has a hand in everything from finances, to student academic and athletic achievement, to implementing school wide policies to benefit student social and emotional heath. They do all this while being a liaison with the school board (an overseeing board composed of community members).

With a clear definition of the responsibilities of the superintendent we can now state what we want to see out of our new superintendent next year.

Dr. Paul Sally was selected by the school board to replace Dr. Linda Yonke. The school board unanimously chose Sally after a presentation highlighting the “whole student.” This plan outlined Sally’s plan to grow not only the academic and athletic parts of a student but to grow their mental, social, and emotional heath.

Sally’s commitment to the “whole student” is reassuring as the pressure to succeed in academics and athletics continues to rise. We want him to continue pursuing this dream of the whole student.

But reassuring words from an office at the Northfield campus is not all the student body needs. Students need to see their superintendent. There needs to be a face to the name, so that students see the superintendent as a figure to respect instead of a hidden force to fear and who also has the power to magically declare snow days.

Our superintendent needs to be at the Winnetka campus not just for meetings, but to walk around, hang out in the cafeteria or library. In short: the superintendent should make their presence known to the students in all settings. This will build their ethos in the eyes of the student and will allow respect to prosper.

Furthermore, the new superintendent should establish communication with student leaders. If these student leaders see the superintendent in action it will, again, build his ethos around the school.

Meeting with student leaders is also mutually beneficial. Not only will the superintendent gain more respect from the student body, but it is through students where administrators can have a greater understanding of the needs, wants and concerns of the student body. Through student leaders, the superintendent can learn valuable information that they can then share with the board.

Communication with students is crucial. And we recommend that Dr. Sally follow Dr. Yonke’s example of creating solid lines of communication with students. Again, in order for this communication to be honest, the superintendent must have a presence in the school; creating a feeling of respect among the student.   

But the bottom line is this: the superintendent is serving students. That is the purpose. That is what is most important: to improve, care for, and support the 4000+ students in this district.

We have been lucky for the past 11 years to have a superintendent who understood this purpose and worked to improve the lives of the students. We hope Dr. Sally continues this pursuit.